-- Orbital’s First Order from Yahsat to be Based on Company’s Higher Capacity GEOStar-3 Satellite Platform --

DULLES, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep. 10, 2014-- Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE:ORB), one of the world’s leading space technology companies, today announced that Al Yah Satellite Communications Company PrJSC (Yahsat), the UAE-based satellite operator, has awarded the company a firm contract to build the Al Yah 3 Ka-band communications satellite. Based on Orbital’s GEOStar-3™ satellite platform, the Al Yah 3 satellite will be designed, manufactured and tested at Orbital’s satellite manufacturing facility in Dulles, VA. The satellite will extend Yahsat’s commercial Ka-band coverage to an additional 600 million users across Africa and Brazil. Al Yah 3 will be launched aboard an Arianespace rocket in the fourth quarter of 2016. Al Yah 3 is the second GEOStar-3 contract award to be announced this year and will be the 28th Orbital-built satellite launched into orbit aboard an Ariane rocket.

Commenting on the appointment of Orbital, Masood M. Sharif Mahmood, Chief Executive Officer at Yahsat, said: “After a rigorous selection process, Yahsat has chosen Orbital to design, manufacture and test its third satellite scheduled for launch in late 2016. With an impressive track record of building more than 150 satellites that have amassed over 1,000 years of in-orbit experience, Orbital has proven their ability to meet and exceed our expectations for world class connectivity in Africa and Brazil.”

Al Yah 3 will be an all Ka-band high-throughput and light-weight satellite that will set a new standard for affordability and flexibility in its class, while also providing the high quality and dependability of Orbital’s reliable GEOStar product line. It will enable the delivery of affordable broadband communications services to numerous countries across Africa, covering 60% of the continent’s population, and will also serve Brazil, covering more than 95% of its population.

“We are honored to partner with Yahsat to design, build, test and deliver the Al Yah 3 satellite,” said David W. Thompson, Orbital’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “This project directly affects the development of the advanced technology industry in the UAE and our team is proud to help advance our customer’s goal. We look forward to working with the Yahsat team and welcome them into the family of GEOStar customers.”

Orbital’s communications satellites are based on the company’s GEOStar satellite platform, which is able to accommodate all types of commercial communications payloads. The GEOStar design is optimized for satellite missions requiring up to 8 kilowatts of payload power. The affordable GEOStar-2 and GEOStar-3 satellite platforms can be built and delivered on schedules that are among the shortest in the industry. The hybrid electric propulsion GEOStar-3-based spacecraft provides the benefits of higher power and greater payload capability while still maintaining advantageous launch costs.

It must be killing Orbital that the Antares second stage doesn't support GTO missions.

They need to fix that, whatever it costs.

Not if it costs more than they can make selling rides to GTO.

The money is in the satellites.

With Arianespace getting aggressive with the pricing of secondary payloads, while it is good for those who sell payloads (Orbital), it provides razor thin margins for those who provide the ride (Arianespace and SpaceX).

It must be killing Orbital that the Antares second stage doesn't support GTO missions.

They need to fix that, whatever it costs.

Dr. Elias has stated in this site that a cheap Falcon 9 for GTO would be the best news for them. They would make a killing selling satellites (and they are). The current price tug between Ariane 5 and Falcon 9 on the 4 tonne payload, plus the Sea Launch and Proton issue on the high end, plus the move to SEP are making OSC offering the sweet spot of the current market.